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When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”

So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.

“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.

“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.

He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.

“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”